Stunts have slipped into the background in the advertising world. Gaming is the new black. BBDO Berlin has combined both old and new fads in a very elegant stunt for organ donation. The campaign was created with NYC group, Save One Person, an organisation that connects living donors to patients who have been in line for transplant via an app.
The idea came from the agency noticing the announcement that read, “PlayStation’s 5 launch had more coverage than 10 humanitarian causes combined”. BBDO Berlin invaded The Demon Souls remake for PS5.
The Demon Souls is known for its threatening duels amongst players. A player invades another one’s world to fight them and steal their souls if they win. BBDO recruited game streamers who, instead of invading players’ worlds to steal their life, but to donate life, using an item called the Stone of Ephemeral Eyes, which can restore the character’s life.
In essence, the gamers donated life in the virtual world to send a message to the Demon’s Soul community that everyone can donate life in the real world too, by registering themselves as living organ donors.
According to Save One Person, there are more than 114,000 people currently waiting for an organ in the US alone. According to the World Health Organisation, all the recent organ donations correspond to less than 10% of the global need, and donor numbers keep going down due to Covid-19.
“At Save One Person we love the idea of gamers stepping in as real-life heroes to be a living organ donor. All gamers have to do is download the SaveOnePerson App and find a life to save. That’s the true game of life,” stated Lauren Finkelstein, chief executive officer, Save One Person.
